Young-adult literature is so pervasive that even Stephen King is diving in – though that master of the macabre American spirit was doing YA way before it was cool.

Works like “It,” “Carrie” and the novella “The Body” (aka “Stand by Me,” if you just watch the movies) predated the rise brought on by “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games,” and it’s those kinds of youngsters batting repression that King returns to with his new novel, “The Institute” (Scribner, 576 pp., ★★★ out of four stars).

Twelve-year-old genius Luke Ellis gets whisked away in the middle of the night from his parents and bright future and is stuck in a mysterious place with other latently psychic kids (some telekinetic, others telepathic) to, in effect, save the world. Good intentions, sure, but a nefarious way to go about it, with antagonistic and ruthless adults giving Luke and other children no choice but to bond over their torturous environment and foment revolutionary thoughts. They dream of escape while being tested in the Institute’s relatively cozy Front Half (cigarettes and alcohol for everyone!) and worry about “graduating” to Back Half, a concentration-camplike place with some serious weirdness afoot.

That’s just half the story, however, because King has a whole other plotline going on right from the beginning of the book. Tim Jamieson is a disgraced Florida cop who’s flying to New York City for a potential gig as a security guard, has a feeling that he needs to give up his spot on the plane and instead winds up in small-town South Carolina as a patrolling “night knocker” for the local police.

But as soon as you start really getting to know him, Tim disappears for a few hundred pages while Luke and his cohorts are introduced, and the results are a bit disjointed. Like two distinct TV shows that end up with a prime-time crossover, you figure Luke and Tim’s paths will streamline together, but it does lead to quite a propulsive and satisfying finale.

King mines his own familiar territory in both instances – Tim’s new locale of DuPray is filled with the kind of lovable oddballs that have always pervaded the writer's work, and Luke and Co. in the Institute reflect everything from the psychic-kid-on-the-run theme of “Firestarter” to the type of youthful power in King's novels that so inspired “Stranger Things.”

“I think we’re all losers,” one girl says, a not-so-subtle reference to the Losers’ Club of “It.” (It’s also probably no coincidence this book’s releasing on the heels of “It: Chapter Two” in theaters – it’s King’s world, man, and we’re just avoiding the clowns.)

Yet even though King’s writing still has the gumption, folksiness and, sure, full-on creepiness his Constant Readers have always loved, “The Institute” is missing the appealing vim and vigor displayed in the author’s recent foray into detective work with the outstanding “Mr. Mercedes” trilogy and spinoff-of-sorts “The Outsider.” Those works – and last year’s surprisingly uplifting “Elevation” – felt like an icon stretching himself, and you don’t have to be a psychic to figure out there’s a lot of “been there, read that” with “The Institute.”

Writer Stephen King.(Photo: Shane Leonard)

That said, King does well inserting a certain modern relevancy, and not just with the subtle shots (and others, not so much) at his social-media foil, Donald Trump. One rural Southern area is described as a place where “Obamacare is looked upon as a libtard blasphemy, and a trip to Walmart is considered an occasion.” There are certain aspects of Luke’s situation that eerily resemble what’s happening in real life with kids at the Mexican border, though in other instances it’s like the X-Men if Professor X was a sadistic stooge always trying to save his own keister.

With “The Institute,” King leans into the theme of “great events” happening with the smallest of decisions as well as the world-changing power of togetherness. And in that case, it’s a frequent lesson he extols that never gets old.

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Fall is coming, bringing with it brightly colored leaves, Halloween decorations and pumpkin-spiced everything. For readers, it also brings a glut of prestige literature, future best-sellers and celebrity memoirs. This fall's new book releases contain an embarrassment of riches. Here’s what we can’t wait to read, starting with “The Dutch House,” by Ann Patchett • Release date: Sept. 24 • A doomed house, distant father and wicked stepmother forge an unbreakable bond between two siblings, who have only each other when all else is lost. Patchett (“Commonwealth,” “State of Wonder”) spins the story into a dark fairy tale of sorts, about the nature of inheritance and forgiveness. Harper

“Inside Out,” by Demi Moore • Release date: Sept. 24 • The famed actress tells her own story, intimately charting her life from the insecurities of her childhood, through addiction and skyrocketing fame to motherhood and marriages. Her story is equal parts adversity and resilience, told with candor. Harper

"The Water Dancer," by Ta-Nehisi Coates • Release date: Sept. 24 • The National Book Award–winning author of “Between the World and Me” makes his fiction debut with a magical story told in soaring prose. Hiram Walker is born into bondage on a plantation with the gift of perfect photographic recall, and a near drowning floods him with images of his ancestors – and a yearning to escape. One World

"The Giver of Stars," by Jojo Moyes • Release date: Oct. 8 • The best-selling author of “Me Before You” sets her latest story in Depression-era Kentucky, where five women deliver books to people who have never had any as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s traveling library. Pamela Dorman Books

“Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, and Advice for Living Your Best Life,” by Ali Wong • Release date: Oct. 15 • The actress and comedian pens heartfelt, hilarious letters to her two daughters containing all the advice they need to make it through life, covering topics like dating and how to succeed as a working mom in a male-dominated profession. Random House

"Me," by Elton John • Release date: Oct. 15 • If anyone’s lived an interesting life, it’s Elton John. Now, the music icon is telling his story for the first time in what promises to be a revealing autobiography, charting the stumbles and triumphs on his path to enduring superstardom. Henry Holt and Co.

"Your House Will Pay," by Steph Cha • Release date: Oct. 15 • In 1991 Los Angeles, a Korean woman shoots and kills an innocent black woman and receives no jail time. It was an era of profound racial tension. But in 2019, little has changed, and as the city tumbles again towards violence, the two families of that long-ago incident are forced to confront their shared history. Ecco

“Agent Running in the Field,” by John le Carré • Release date: Oct. 22 • The master of espionage novels (“The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”) returns with a veteran of MI6 against a Ukranian oligarch. Viking

“All This Could Be Yours,” by Jami Attenberg • Release date: Oct. 22 • Dubbed the “poet laureate of difficult families” by Kirkus Reviews, Attenberg (“All Grown Up,” “The Middlesteins”) weaves a brutal and beautiful story of familial dysfunction. A dying and toxic patriarch brings the family together around his deathbed, where they must sift through the wreckage and dark family secrets to pick up the pieces. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

“Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More than Ever,” by Gavin Edwards • Release date: Oct. 29 • Fred Rogers is the closest thing we have to a secular American saint after decades spent teaching children the value of kindness on his beloved PBS show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” This book pays tribute to the man who helped raise so many of us, and argues the case that his wisdom is more essential than ever. Dey Street Books

“The Beautiful Ones,” by Prince • Release date: Oct. 29 • Before his death in 2016, Prince had begun work on a memoir, telling the story of his life in his own words. The book, completed with the aid of editor Dan Piepenbring as well as never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, documents the life of one of the world’s most iconic musical superstars. Spiegel & Grau

"Find Me," by André Aciman • Release date: Oct. 29 • Spellbinding chronicler of love Aciman returns to the world of “Call Me by Your Name” with a highly anticipated sequel. Elio, now a classical pianist, has a fateful affair; his father, Samuel, is upended by a chance encounter on a train with a beautiful young woman; and American Oliver contemplates another trip across the Atlantic. We’re already swooning. Farrar, Straus and Giroux

"The Witches Are Coming," by Lindy West • Release date: Nov. 5 • The feminist firebrand behind “Shrill” (a memoir adapted into the rather excellent Hulu series) returns with a new collection of essays written with her hilarious brand of incisive social critique. The witches are coming, and they’re coming for you. Hachette

“The Starless Sea,” by Erin Morgenstern • Release date: Nov. 5 • The best-selling author of “The Night Circus” spins a fantastical new love story set in a secret underground world of lost cities, pirates and magic. Doubleday

“Little Weirds,” by Jenny Slate • Release date: Nov. 5 • Actress and comedian Slate (“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” “Obvious Child”) brings her brand of whimsy and bracing honesty to a bizarre nonfiction narrative collection, touching on her childhood, growing up in a haunted house and divorce. Impossible to categorize, much like Slate. Little, Brown and Company

“In the Dream House,” by Carmen Maria Machado • Release date: Nov. 5 • The acclaimed author of “Her Body and Other Parties” writes a daring memoir, examining and deconstructing a harrowing relationship with a volatile woman, trying to make sense of what happened by viewing it through various narrative tropes. A searing account of one abusive queer relationship viewed in the context of culture and history. Graywolf Press

“Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge,” by Sheila Weller • Release date: Nov. 12 • A candid biography of the late iconoclastic actress and writer, beginning with her roots in Hollywood royalty and tracking her triumph over bipolar disorder, drug addiction, overdoses and crises to live a singular life. She may be gone, but she’s very much not forgotten. Sarah Crichton Books